Crawley and Duckett Shine in Dominant Opening Stand Against Zimbabwe
England's Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett shared a powerful partnership reaching 130 runs without loss on day one against Zimbabwe. Both secured half-centuries, with Duckett reaching his milestone swiftly. Despite Zimbabwe’s efforts, they struggled on a placid wicket. England debuted Sam Cook and welcomed back Josh Tongue.
England's openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett showcased an impressive display of batting prowess, building an undefeated partnership to give their team a commanding start with 130 runs on the board during the first morning of the one-off test against Zimbabwe.
Duckett was particularly aggressive, reaching his half-century in just 47 balls with nine boundaries, while Crawley also hit his stride, achieving his 50 in 76 balls. Their performance helped England maintain a steady scoring rate of five runs per over at Trent Bridge.
Despite hopes for early breakthroughs with the ball in cloudy conditions, Zimbabwe's seamers, led by captain Craig Ervine, found little success against the well-set English pair. The match also saw England introducing seamer Sam Cook and welcoming back Josh Tongue after a two-year injury hiatus.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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